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What's the difference between a boat and a ship?

Whats the difference between a ship and a boat?

  • Answer:

    Here is the main difference: "ALL" ships are commercially owned. "ALL ships are ocean crossing capable and most typically used on, or for, crossing oceans. They also have (life) boats on board. Boats on the other hand, can be either commericially or privately owned, few are ocean crossing capable, and boats are most commonly used on lakes, rivers and coastal waters. Few ever cross an ocean. Yachts, are privately owned, very luxuriously appointed, typically 50 ft in length or larger, and often staffed with a paid crew. Many are capable of crossing an ocean, some in fact can not. Both the term 'boat' and the term 'vessel' is the most generic term often used to reference all the above. John

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In modern usage, a ship is a vessel that has boats aboard. In classic usage, a ship was specifically a three-masted full rigged sailing vessel. In normal everyday usage, well: pretty much everything's a boat. I served on the USS Eisenhower. Everybody called it a boat. edit: but Capt. John: naval ships aren't commercially owned.

Sid the squid

Ships tend to be big and for commercial use, boats are smaller and usually for pleasure use

TONY

Ships have a complete deck enclosing the hull. Boats do not have any decking, or at least only partial (say, a foredeck).

Greywolf

ship are bigger then boat

Billy

This is a classic question that has no real answer, or rather has many a variant answers. Technically, as has been stated a ship is a full rigged three masted sailing vessel. Since the demise of this type of vessel a ship has by default been used as a term to mean a commercially powered cargo carrying vessel. And yes passengers are cargo. The power is usually steam or oil but may still be wind. Boats are by nature, generally smaller that ships and are also usually not commercial but may at times be used for commercial purposes, such as fishing boats pleasure boats,the famous Mississippi river boats etc. So take your pick, the result is that you may well be right. In Military terms,ie Naval, a submarine is always called a boat, don't ask me why because I do not know, a colleague of mine said it was because if a ship goes under the water it is sinking but a submarine does not sink as such. He could be right. Anyway enjoy the discussion.

Sailor

ships are bigger boats if you are on a ship it will always be a boat but if your in a boat it doesnt always qualifty as a ship

Matt

I think a ship is a subdivision of boats, and is defined by it's size and use.

ship = boat.vNO DOFFERENCEe

Emily

Size

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